respecting a persons black belt from a diffrent style

[KARATEKA007]

I recently been taking shito ryu for the last six months , it all started out with a simple " can I work out with you guys for today " sensei was like yeah sure , got dressed and joined everyone on the floor , I was wearing my black gi with my kenpo patches on it ( they all had white gi's ) , they had me up front with the other black & brown belts , when the class was finished I was invited to be part of there group , next class I wore my white gi and sensei was like " wear that one from now on when you come to class " it took a minute to adapt just because of all the Japanese words being used but ive been getting the hang of it , after doing kumite with a couple of the guys sensei went up to me and told me " I guess its true what they say : kenpo guys are dirty fighters " we both chuckled ... my belt was never an issue , and just last week I was given a shito ryu school patch and told to throw that on my gi , I was honored , WHAT YOU GUYS THINK. would you guys make me wear a white belt just like anyone else starting at a new school ?

 

[Dirty Dog]

I'd rather be the best white belt ever than a black belt who didn't know the system.

 

[clfsean]

I recently been taking shito ryu for the last six months , it all started out with a simple " can I work out with you guys for today " sensei was like yeah sure , got dressed and joined everyone on the floor , I was wearing my black gi with my kenpo patches on it ( they all had white gi's ) , they had me up front with the other black & brown belts , when the class was finished I was invited to be part of there group , next class I wore my white gi and sensei was like " wear that one from now on when you come to class " it took a minute to adapt just because of all the Japanese words being used but ive been getting the hang of it , after doing kumite with a couple of the guys sensei went up to me and told me " I guess its true what they say : kenpo guys are dirty fighters " we both chuckled ... my belt was never an issue , and just last week I was given a shito ryu school patch and told to throw that on my gi , I was honored , WHAT YOU GUYS THINK. would you guys make me wear a white belt just like anyone else starting at a new school ?

In a heartbeat. I wouldn't discount previous experience but you'd start out as a "not-so-much-but-still-noob". You wouldn't be practicing kenpo so while you might pick up quick, you would also need to change things as well. So the previous black belt experience would just make it easier to transition if you were into seriously learning what's being taught as opposed to just "working out".

 

[KARATEKA007]

honestly im just there to work out and learn something that I could add to what I already know and they know that , so far ive learned kihon kata ichi , chi no kata , pinan nidan , pinan sandan , pinan shodan , pinan godan , pinan yondan and they ve slowly introduced matsukaze & bassai dai to me , but to me kumite is always the best no matter what.

 

[arnisador]

I like being underestimated.

 

[KARATEKA007]

are you often ?

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

are you often ?

Dont know about arnisador, but I always am...in fact, i actively try to make people underestimate me...you never know when that underestimation could save you.

 

[Carol]

are you often ?

Yes.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I like being underestimated.

are you often ?

Nobody expects the Inquisition....
Arni is like every Ninja movie you ever saw... I heard from a friend that his cousin knew a guy that dated a girl who had a neighbor that said they saw Arni break an engine block in half with one strike.

If I'm visiting another school, I'm willing to wear my rank, although I'm more likely to drop by in gym clothes. If I'm there to learn, then I will only wear whatever rank I have earned in that system.

 

[jks9199]

Depends on the context. If you're visiting periodically... I wouldn't look for you to wear a white belt. If you're deciding to enter training as part of the class... We'd figure out where to put you. Might not start as a white belt... but might ask you not to where the black belt, either. It's just to avoid confusion; you aren't a black belt in Bando -- and I wouldn't want someone confused by you not knowing the stuff a black belt is expected too. That's not saying anything's wrong with what you know -- but more like someone hearing a person addressed as "doctor" in the ER, and expecting them to begin to treat you, only to discover that their doctorate is in mathematics.

 

[Rich Parsons]

I recently been taking shito ryu for the last six months , it all started out with a simple " can I work out with you guys for today " sensei was like yeah sure , got dressed and joined everyone on the floor , I was wearing my black gi with my kenpo patches on it ( they all had white gi's ) , they had me up front with the other black & brown belts , when the class was finished I was invited to be part of there group , next class I wore my white gi and sensei was like " wear that one from now on when you come to class " it took a minute to adapt just because of all the Japanese words being used but ive been getting the hang of it , after doing kumite with a couple of the guys sensei went up to me and told me " I guess its true what they say : kenpo guys are dirty fighters " we both chuckled ... my belt was never an issue , and just last week I was given a shito ryu school patch and told to throw that on my gi , I was honored , WHAT YOU GUYS THINK. would you guys make me wear a white belt just like anyone else starting at a new school ?

I might have replied sarcastically with some truth, but see below for more

I'd rather be the best white belt ever than a black belt who didn't know the system.

This is very true and is a good response

In a heartbeat. I wouldn't discount previous experience but you'd start out as a "not-so-much-but-still-noob". You wouldn't be practicing kenpo so while you might pick up quick, you would also need to change things as well. So the previous black belt experience would just make it easier to transition if you were into seriously learning what's being taught as opposed to just "working out".

Another good reply

I like being underestimated.

The sneaky and good reply

***

Now my reply:

You should wear what the instructor tells you to wear.

Having a black belt in one art can get you in the "club" when you are talking with other people and and or at a seminar and such. Yet when you are at a place for training, you are in their club.

Now if they have an open lets just get together and train night and you show up then. I see issues with doing what you know from other systems.
But if you are there to learn the system you need to listen and pay attention to what is being done and said. How would you feel if a lower ranked than what you were wearing asks a question and it is a basic and you do not know it? What if you could not demonstrate it? I have seen people try really hard to not get beat by someone with a lower rank and they try anything and ignore the lesson at hand.


To be honest, no one really likes to start all over from scratch (except those who feel good being sneaky and trapping people like Arni and myself and a few others I know), and climb from the bottom. Yet, if you do start from the bottom you have the respect of the others and the instructor and most importantly, yourself.

Wear your white belt with pride when you are student learning a new system.

Wear your Black Belt with pride when you are a guest invited in to a demo or a test or just for an open discussion.




You will get a lot further in the end if you do. (* I also do think that it is an issue with you, but it could be age or it could be maturity or it could be ego, which we all have to deal with from time to time. *)

 

[arnisador]

Dont know about arnisador, but I always am...in fact, i actively try to make people underestimate me...you never know when that underestimation could save you.

Oh yeah--I'm all about this. With my buddies or elsewhere, I want them to be underestimating me. I am an old hand at that.

 

[KARATEKA007]

I was never asked to wear a white belt

 

[Dirty Dog]

I was never asked to wear a white belt

I wouldn't be asked either. I'd just do it.

 

[Touch Of Death]

I wouldn't be asked either. I'd just do it.

That could be an issue too. I suggest a discussion.

 

[RTKDCMB]

I don't think starting someone who has a black belt in one art as a white belt actually has anything much to do with respect I think it's more a matter of having them learn the new system from the beginning. As an ananolgy if you were a heart surgeon and decided one day to be a neurosurgeon and you turned up to the neurosurgery department you wouldn't be operating on someone's brain on the first day. If you are changing styles it is not so much the techniques that are completely different that give you problems adapting to it's the ones that are similar. If you have a black belt in another art you would proably advance at a faster pace than a complete beginner and starting again at white belt requires a certain level of humility.

 

[KARATEKA007]

I think if they had asked me I probably would of , but they never did they just had me jump in the mix , its almost like they don't care about all that , they never brought it up so I never brought it up , and I just moved forward along with them.

 

[Mauthos]

I have always tended to wear a white belt when training in a style that was new to me regardless of rank in any martial art that was similar. I think that it shows respect to that art and the instructor. This then leaves the decision in the instructors hands, if he sees your experience showing through he may ask you to wear your current highest ranking, or award you a belt in that style that he feels reflects your skill level.

However, my main Kenpo instructor has always said to guys new to Kenpo who have a BB in another art to wear their BB as they have earned it. Plus another common thing I have seen are people wearing a white belt with a black band or stripe on it to reflect their BB status in another style.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

I recently started shotokan after seven years of tkd. In tkd I am due to grade for my second dan, but havent bothered to grade as yet. I insisted on starting at white belt in my new shotokan dojo, they have asked if I would be interested in jumping a few levels after my first grading, and to be honest I dont want to. Im not in martial arts for belts and unless I went to another tkd club teaching identical curriculum to where I got my tkd black belt, I would always rather start at the beginning like everyone else.

 

[Blindside]

When in doubt offer to wear the white belt, and just do it, don't ask. If they want you to wear your old rank then they will let you know. I have done this at many schools and most of the time I am told to put on my actual rank.

There is also a perception thing, it looks weird if a white belt is beating (or holding his own) against black belts, it makes more sense to recognize that previous rank if that is a concern.